


The Silver Key

by Ginkagi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fate/Grand Order - Freeform, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Dean Winchester, Psychic Sam Winchester, Rating May Change, Sam Winchester Has Powers, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers, Slow Burn, but this does not require ANY knowledge of fate to be read, powers are based off of the fate servant system
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginkagi/pseuds/Ginkagi
Summary: What if Azazel never gave Sam demon blood? What if instead, there was something much darker feeding into Sam and giving him powers? Unbeknownst to the brothers, Sam has become the vessel to something far beyond the realm of demons and angels, and slowly he discovers his new powers, molding them into his own and desiring to use them to continue to help save people and fight bigger threats. With power like this, however, it’s only a matter of time before it begins to change him.And what lengths will Dean go to to get back his little brother?(A canon divergent fic exploring a Supernatural with very different character arcs for Sam and Dean, as well as new allies, enemies, and powers.)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Everything always started with Mary Winchester.

It began on that fateful night, when a drowsy mother had gone to check on her youngest son. He was just a cute little blob full of smiles and laughter that made Mary’s heart swell with unfathomable joy everytime she laid eyes on him. Looking down into the crib, she gently stroked his soft, smooth cheek, a content expression on her face. This is what she had wished for all her life; no monsters, no running, no fighting, just her, the man she loved, and two beautiful sons. Every step throughout her life, she’s done for the sake of having this moment, this feeling.

Things never quite worked out that way for a Winchester, though. Even though she never made a deal with a demon 10 years ago. Even though John was healthy and by her side. Even though she’d taken every precaution that ever graced her mind when dealing with the supernatural. Apparently, some things simply couldn’t be beaten.

It started as just a tiny little flame, so tiny and insignificant it could almost be beautiful, if it wasn’t floating above her little boy’s crib. Before she could even process what was happening, the flame began to grow into a violent inferno, all the while glowing an ethereal, unnatural blue. She cried out, but the fire seemed to grab her and pull her in, engulfing her body. Her body contorted and limbs thrashed out in alarm and pain, and the fire drew upwards to an unknown source, pinning her to the ceiling. All she could do was watch her innocent little Sam in her last moments, wanting nothing more than to be able to soothe his cries.

As the fire raged on and her life was beginning to slowly fade, she distantly registered John rushing into the room, his panic and alarm as he scooped up Sam and began to yell at both herself and Dean, not that she could make out what was being said at this point. As she let out her last breath, distantly she could hear a thought invade her mind.

_‘Sam Winchester must burn.’ ___

__As the Winchester family stood on their lawn, helplessly watching as the strange blue fire faded into an ordinary red and orange, they knew that their lives would never, could never, be the same after this._ _

__\---_ _

__The story is a familiar tale after that. John Winchester becomes a cold blooded hunter dead set on killing the thing that killed his beloved Mary, Dean is his perfect protege and basically singlehandedly raises Sam, who is much more apprehensive about the current state of his family than the other two would like.  
Never being able to settle down, constantly wondering when you’ll get your next meal or see your only family again, putting your life on the line every other week, making friends and studying hard only to have it all reset when they move on to the next hunt; could anyone blame Sam for being dissatisfied with that kind of life? He longed for some semblance of a normal life, something he literally was never able to experience, being only an infant when all hopes for normalcy in his family were stripped away. That’s why he didn’t think twice about leaving for Stanford, even if it hurt him to leave behind Dean as well. Why he was ecstatic at living a quiet life of studying and settling down with a girl he loved more than the sun and the moon. Why he was confused and stressed when Dean snuck into his apartment one night to tell him Dad disappeared on a hunting trip._ _

__The way Dean looked Sam in the eyes and the tone of his voice, dripping with the undertone of wanting to have his little brother back and that currently he was basically all alone, it was so unfair. How could Sam say no to the big brother who did everything for him like that? So just for the weekend, he’d go back to the hunter lifestyle. Right, just for the weekend._ _

__Just for the weekend…_ _

__Dread. It coursed through Sam’s body in the dead of night like a fire alarm, shaking him out of his sleep. Eyes shooting open, only to be met with a sight that was dredged up from long forgotten memories that almost made him vomit. Jessica, his precious Jessica, pinned to the ceiling. It was all he could do to scramble upwards and cry out “No!” before the familiar blue flames shot out of her, engulfing her, their apartment, and any semblance of a normal life Sam Winchester could have ever hoped for once again._ _

__Why? Why did this have to happen to him? To the people he loved?_ _

__Dead set on vengeance, he left Stanford once more with Dean, this time for much longer than just the weekend. Things were back to their twisted version of normal; hunting monsters, doing research in seedy motels, saving each other's asses and then bickering afterwards. Yet something still always lingered in the back of his mind._ _

__He’d dreamt about Jessica’s death days before it happened. A recurring nightmare that he attributed to just his past traumas haunting him. But something like that… there was no way that could just be a coincidence. The fact that something startled him out of his sleep, almost as a warning, a whispered ‘Get out’ before the flames could consume him once again. He tried to ignore, tried to hide it from Dean, but it kept happening. Dreams of something long before it happened, or even only minutes before it happened. The splitting headaches that accompanied visions of the future that haunted him. He didn’t really know what to make of it; how could he? If he thought too long about it, he almost felt like one of the things that they should be hunting down._ _

__“So, what, you think you can see into the future? In your dreams?” Dean had said around the mouthfuls of a greasy burger._ _

__“How else would you explain it other than premonitions? I see things happen to people, we go there, and then stop that exact thing from taking place,” Sam replied indignantly, his heart pounding in his chest. This was anything but the normal he’d hoped for, what was happening to him._ _

__Dean’s big brother senses must have gone off, “Listen Sammy, no matter what kind of freaky shit is goin’ on in that head of yours, we’ll figure it out. Just stop tryna keep it a secret from me.”_ _

__Sam nodded slowly, taking a shuddering gulp. Right, they’d figure it out, they always managed to. They could fix this as well…. Right?_ _

__\---_ _

__Neither of them had been particularly thrilled to revisit their childhood home again. It wasn’t exactly the bearer of good memories. They’d caught wind of some rumors of it being haunted, however, and the familiar description of blue flames appearing set them right off. This wasn’t something they could just ignore because of their own baggage._ _

__Even with the help of the psychic they enlisted the help of, tracking down whatever was tormenting the house was a mess. Nothing seemed to line up, and the thing always acted like it was gone then attacked when they were away. Sam should’ve learned his lesson before letting himself be alone in the house, and couldn’t be too surprised when he was pinned and slowly choked by the damn spirit._ _

__Sam made garbled noises as he took in strained breaths, limbs flexing and muscles clenching in a desperate bid to escape whatever was holding him. With no way to alert anyone for help and no way of breaking free, Sam’s mind went into overdrive, analyzing every possible idea before shooting it down, until he felt helpless, if not defiant. He screwed his eyes shut, even as he heard Dean’s shouting voice, and felt the beginnings of something within him, something that felt very natural and yet at the same time extremely foreign. Before he could think about it further, he was suddenly released, and his eyes widened as they landed on the figure of his mother, burning in the beautiful azure pyre as she once again saved his life, taking out whatever poltergeist had attacked them._ _

__“Mom…” Dean mumbled in disbelief afterwards as she stroked his cheek with the tender love any son would recognize from their mother. Dean relished those moments, for a second being transported back to being just a toddler running around carefree in their family home, before her hand left and he was pulled back into reality._ _

__Mary turned to face Sam with a hard to describe expression. Her eyes held a mix of longing, sadness, and regret, perhaps even a tinge of fear. It sent a chill down Sam’s spine. Why was she looking at him like that? What did she know that Sam didn’t?_ _

__“Sam… I’m sorry.”_ _

__No, mom, don’t be-_ _

__“Please, don’t lose your way, don’t forget who you are.”_ _

__-everything was all little Sammy’s fault after all._ _

__The image of their mother once more faded away, and Sam could feel in his gut that faint foreign feeling from before. They were way in over their heads, and putting a hand on his stomach, he had a feeling he knew the origin of it._ _

__\---_ _

__Sam hadn’t been thinking about his powers at the moment, considering they were currently on a wild goose chase for ghosts around an abandoned asylum with two civvie teenagers in tow. After all, they were already here, what was a premonition going to do other than slow Sam down with a splitting migraine?_ _

__He’d figured out that it was the doctor of the asylum causing the mischief, not the spirits of the patients. All that was left was to salt and burn the body without getting anyone killed in the process (easier said than done). Well, it wasn’t like they hadn’t already hunted countless spirits throughout their lives. That’s why Sam should’ve known not to leave the two kids behind with a shotgun, why he should’ve known better than to trust the call talking to him in his brother’s voice, why he should’ve listened to the foreign feeling squirming up and down his body as he descended the basement. He put a hand over his stomach, convinced it was just nerves, but still disturbed at how distinctly wriggly the feeling was, almost in an alarmed way.  
Unfortunately, college must’ve made Sam rusty, because as he descended through the basement in search of Dean, he instead found himself pinned against the wall by a mad, decaying old man gripping his head so tightly he wouldn’t be surprised if it popped. Well, that’s one way to locate the malevolent doctor, he guessed._ _

__“Don’t worry, I’m going to make you all better,” Dr. Ellicott said in the flat, smooth voice of a professional at work. Too bad his work consisted of currently trying to scramble Sam’s brains or something of the sort. He struggled desperately against it, groaning as he felt something probe deep into his mind. He was being possessed, or overshadowed, and because he let his guard down he had no way to stop it._ _

__Or at least, that should’ve been the case. Instead, as Ellicott continued to probe deeper into Sam’s mind, it may have probed a bit too deep. It pushed deeper into his soul, into something neither of them knew was even there, that theoretically shouldn’t even be able to exist inside of him: a Saint Graph._ _

__Sam’s head went from splitting to pain to lightheadedness, and his eyes drooped as he began to feel woozy, knees weakening under his own weight. Clouds came over his mind as something pushed back at Ellicott, coming up from deep within Sam’s own being to the surface far before it should have. His head lolled to the side like a ragdoll, only to glance up at the doctor, the warm and friendly shade of green gone from his eyes and instead replaced with a dark ruby._ _

__“What? You thought you could take over this mind and body so easily?” Sam scoffed, straightening his back and towering over the confused spirit. Tendrils of light burst forth from Sam’s back, slamming violently into the ground and spraying concrete rubble and dust all over the room. The new appendages moved and squirmed in an otherworldly fashion, and the light encasing them seemed to protect even further secrets about them._ _

__‘Sam’ giggled, taking bold steps forward and violently pinning the doctor in return with the newfound tendrils. He continued to approach until he was only mere centimeters from the dead man’s face, and he gently put a finger up to the old man’s lips and spoke in a soft voice, “Really, I’d love to slap you around a bit more, but we can’t be making too much noise, right?” ‘Sam’ hushed, “This vessel isn’t ready for this kind of strain yet either, so please don’t put your filthy mitts on it again, ok?”_ _

__Ellicott stared with wide eyes as a keyhole slowly opened up on the young Winchester’s forehead. It seemed to draw in both light and darkness alike, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away either as he looked in deeper and deeper, until he saw something not even an evil spirit should be able to see._ _

___“I hold the silver key.” _____

____Dr. Ellicott was never seen on this Earth ever again._ _ _ _

____\---_ _ _ _

____Sam awoke slowly on the cold basement floor, groaning wearily as he lifted his body off the ground. He felt like a heap of lead, like he’d been in the deepest sleep of his life. Looking around slowly, grassy green eyes back once more, he blearily tried to recall what had happened before he’d fallen asleep, or unconscious, he wasn’t too sure which. He wasn’t too sure what the events leading up to it were either. He remembered being pinned against the wall, the feeling of something painfully pushing into his head, and then… dark. Had the man only knocked him out?_ _ _ _

____“Sammy!?” Sam was startled into full alert when the voice of a worried Dean tore through the cold silence, the older Winchester coming quickly around the corner, looking around wildly yet carefully._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____“I’m here Dean, I’m ok,” Sam eased, lifting himself up off his knees. Dean hustled over and pulled him up from under his arms to help him out. “Thanks.”_ _ _ _

____“What the hell happened? Are you hurt?” Dean grilled him, looking around and ready to pump anything that came near them full of rock salt._ _ _ _

____“I’m not too sure, but I’m not hurt. Doctor got the jump on me and knocked me out.”_ _ _ _

____“Got some leverage for an old man, huh,” Dean joked dryly, “Let’s just try and find his body, salt and burn, then get the hell outta here.”_ _ _ _

____Sam silently agreed, and they began to search the basement for said body, and he could feel his brother never straying too far from him, making him roll his eyes. He always pretended not to care, but Sam wasn’t an idiot._ _ _ _

____After Dean had caught wind of a particularly foul sent, they pried open an old cupboard and found the doctors rotting body inside, causing the two of them to scrunch their faces in disgust. Apply salt, apply gasoline, finish with a blaze of flaming rigor mortis. Business as usual._ _ _ _

____It was rather anticlimactic in the end, and Sam couldn’t help but wonder where the doctor had gone after he attacked him. Why didn’t he try to stop them from burning his body? They thoroughly searched the asylum afterwards in suspicion, but nothing. No ghosties or ghoulies or maniacal medical psychopaths to speak of. Escorting out the teens who were newly broken up, they entered the impala and sat heavily, a bit miffed._ _ _ _

____“Well, can’t complain that we weren’t almost killed for once,” Dean shrugged, happy to blast Metallica and get out of the creepy old place._ _ _ _

____Sam agreed, but something just didn’t feel right, like there was a major piece of the puzzle still missing. A shiver ran up his spine as he stared out the passenger window, once again feeling as if something was shifting his organs around inside him, feeling harder at the core and more frantic towards the ends of the sensation. Uneasy, the younger man knew for sure something was wrong, and that that something was most likely inside of him._ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

Sam Winchester was a surprisingly pious man. He prayed every morning, and always took solace in spending time at churches. Of course, they were usually rather safe places against monsters and demons, but also the fact that when he was there, he felt just a little more at peace and closer to the good left in this world. When from the moment you were an infant your entire life has been running, barely getting by, and being haunted by horrific creatures vying for your life, all that’s left to do is find hope in a higher being that may be out there for you.

So today, like every other day, Sam prayed. Out of sight from his brother of course, who was sure to have a lot of choice words on his belief in the divine. Not that he could exactly blame Dean for not believing in God, after what they’ve been through. Like a lot of things, this was a topic where the two saw the same issue in very different lights.

Next up on the schedule was ganking an ugly bastard.

They’d found a relatively straightforward case involving a rawhide, and went after it. Everything was going rather well; locations ecured, kids found safe, weapons ready, until the thing got the jump on them. In a scramble, Sam had used his one shot his taser already, and so was tasked with getting the kids outside the abandoned house they were in and to safety while Dean did the fighting. He had faith in his big brother, and it’s not like there was anything super out of the ordinary about this hunt, except for the whole concept of a hunt itself.

That’s what he told himself, but when he returned back to the basement to provide backup, he found a dead rawhide first and his unconscious brother lying in a puddle second. Rushing over quickly, he dropped to his knees and put a hand to Dean’s neck to check his vitals, only to snap his hand back in pain after being shocked. 

Puddle, tasers, unconsciousness. Oh shit.

Sam quickly got to work, first carefully removing Dean from the water to prevent any risk of further electrocution, as well as removing his jacket. He took his vitals, and quickly noted the far too high temperature of his skin, as well as minor burns across his body. The most alarming detail was that his heart was not pumping consistently, stopping for far too long at some points and pumping way too fast the next second.A few times his heart stopped for far too long, to which Sam quickly provided CPR. Sweat rolled down his cheeks from the sheer amount of adrenaline running through his veins, looking down with fearful eyes at his brother’s face, which was scrunched up in pain, muscles twitching erratically every so often. 

\---

The rest was a blur of panic, adrenaline, and worried glances at Dean’s face until Dean was safely admitted to a hospital. This was where the hunt usually ended, one or both of them banged up a bit but recovered in the hospital and then they’d skip town before they could even catch a whiff of the bill. Dean would crack some corny jokes about it that weren’t funny to Sam but left a shit eating grin on his brothers face, which was more than enough for the younger to feel relieved that everything was going to be ok.

That’s not what happened though. Well, Dean did still crack jokes like usual, but it couldn’t be even the slightest bit reassuring. The doctors had told them with sympathetic tones that Dean’s hard had been irreparable damaged in the electrocution, that there was nothing they could do. That his big brother would be dead in a few weeks time.

Sam was numb. He constantly had a lump in his throat and his brain felt muddy, like he couldn’t even comprehend it. How could he? First Mom, then Jess, and now Dean, the one who’d always been there for him and looked after him no matter how much they fought? All while their aloof father was off on some wild goose chase, and couldn’t even answer the phone when his oldest was dying? 

He resorted to the only thing he could do: research. Research every corner of the internet, every book he could get his hands on. Research on an empty stomach late into the night until he’d eventually succumb to the exhaustion. Book after book, page after page, no matter how he looked, it was all fruitless. After all, this wasn’t some supernatural malady, he was electrocuted. It was up to modern medicine, and that wasn’t good enough. 

They were sitting in Dean’s hospital room, Dean watching some mindless TV show that he was having fun making fun of while bitching about the hospital food he was stuck eating. “C’mon Sam, you could at least sneak me a good burger before I die!” Sam didn’t find it funny,

Sitting there, watching the only person he had left put on fake smiles that were all too familiar while his eyes looked on, barely containing the turmoil beneath, Sam felt a pang of desperation. His breath hitched, and felt almost like something broke in two inside him. He did the only thing he had left that could do.

He prayed. 

Dean was too busy avoiding his brother’s gaze which was filled with more sadness than one person should be able to carry to notice. How his brother squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, clasping his hands together tight enough for his knuckles to turn white and held them close to his chest. Please God, please anyone or anything that might be listening, if there truly is something good left in this world: please don’t take the only thing Sam Winchester has left to live for away from him.

Sam didn’t know what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t for a golden light to burst forth from between his fingers, brightly illuminating the hospital room. Dean’s head whirled around to face his brother, bewilderment mirrored on both of their faces. The light seemed to settle on Dean before disappearing into his chest. The older man hunched over as it felt like the wind got knocked out of him, sucking in a few sharp breaths. That was enough to knock the younger out of his shock and jump to his brother’s side in panic. Dean’s heart began to race, thumping wildly as the monitors tracking his vitals ramped up, Sam grasping Dean’s arm tightly about to shout his brother’s name before the light completely vanished from the room and everything went back to normal, calm.

Dean blinked once, then twice. He put a heart to his chest, feeling it beat completely normally. Sam looked at Dean’s vitals on the hospital monitors, and not only was everything normal, but exceedingly healthy as well. The two were mostly silent for the rest of that time, as the doctors checked up on him again, finding his heart was completely healthy and declaring it a miracle. They were silent as they left the hospital, silent as they started up the impala and began to drive off.

“Sooo, you gonna’ explain to me what the hell that was?” Dean finally broke the silence. He gave Sam side glances, and they weren’t filled with anger or fear, just pure confusion.

“I... “ What was Sam supposed to say exactly? “I don’t know. I prayed for you to survive, and apparently that actually worked.”

“You _prayed?”_ Sam shot him his signature bitch face. “What, the big man himself healed me? Finally pitied us enough to step in?”  
“That’s not what I’m saying Dean,” Sam cringed as he felt something wriggle in him again, it had been a bit since the last time it happened. “Between this and the visions, I think something’s wrong with me, Dean.” 

“I’ve known there was something wrong with you from the moment you opened your mouth as a kid,” Dean shook his head. “You’re right though, somethings up with you.” He continued in a lower voice.

Sam flushed, suddenly feeling ashamed. There wasn’t any use hiding it from Dean any longer, but that didn’t make him feel any less freaky about the whole situation. “I think something happened back at the asylum too, but I don’t remember any of it.” He muttered in response.

Dean acknowledged what he said, but not in an overt way, as per usual. “Calm down now Samantha, I don’t need you getting all soft on me.” Sam huffed and straightened his back, brow furrowed. “We’ll just do what we usually do; look into it then fix it. It;s our schtick.” Dean winked to try and lighten the mood, but when he glanced over he noticed Sam beginning to cringe and lean over, hands pressed against his head. “Shit, Sammy, you ok? Another vision?”

Sam laughed dryly before wincing again, “It’s Freakshow Friday after all,” He managed to get out before gasping, taking in sharp breaths. Dean pulled over so he could divert full attention to his brother. 

They’d developed a bit of a routine when it came to the visions. Dean would be quiet until Sam was ready to talk, not wanting to further confuse him or agitate his headache further during the brunt of it. He’d gotten a bottle of water ready for him to take sips from when needed (the amount he sweated during the process was a bit disgusting, actually), and he’d dug out a bottle of ibuprofen from the glove compartment to get ready for Sam. Dean’s hand would twitch, tempted to reach out and rub his brother’s back like he did when he got hurt when they were kids, but held back. They were grown men.

After a few minutes passed, Sam came back to reality. He gratefully dumped a few pills into his head before downing the, chugging through the whole bottle of water in one fell swoop. Then, he briefed Dean on his next mission.

\---

Dean would’ve liked to relax a bit for once after, y’know, just coming back from an imminent death sentence through the hands of some unexplainable power his brother apparently had, but there’s no rest for the Wicked-chesters. 

Sam’s vision had led them to some type of faith healing community, which left a bad taste of bitter irony in their mouths. Apparently it actually worked, but the price was that in exchange for one life, another had to be taken. And they really didn’t need some backwoods reverend with death on a leash playing God and executioner roaming about. The hardest part was figuring out what they were using to make the whole operation happen, but a quick breaking and entering to destroy an altar and then a rosary belonging to the reverend's wife, and that was hook, line and sinker.

Sam worried that his power was similar to this, that healing Dean had cost somebody else their life as well. A calm, almost comforting wriggle from inside him seemed to be telling him that that wasn’t the case. On one hand, it was nice to know, but on the other, the rest of his situation was still deeply disturbing and he wasn’t sure he was ok with the fact he was establishing communication with whatever was inside him shuffling his guts around and making him some kind of psychic.

Dean, meanwhile, had gotten dewy eyed over a girl with a brain tumor that, due to shutting down the faith healing, was most likely going to pass soon. They knew that they had to do it, or else someone else would’ve died in her place, but dammit it doesn’t exactly feel good having stripped someone of their last hope at life. So to try and put them at ease, Sam offered to pray for her.

So he did. Of course, she thought he was just being compassionate, but Sam and Dean both knew what was up; Sam was trying to heal her like he did Dean. Yet no matter how long he pried or how tightly he closed his eyes or clasped his hands, nothing happened. No bright light, no theatrics, no sudden second chance at life, All they could do was offer her well wishes, and part ways.

“Do you think it was just some one-off thing?” Dean offered as they were once again on the road.

“I don’t know what to think of any of it, Dean.”

“No need to get bitchy about it.”

Just a few weeks ago, Sam thought he’d finally be living a normal life. Honestly, that’s on him. Once a hunter, always a hunter, and also a freak of nature now too, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This section wound up being longer than intended, but I think that's ok. I wanted to take the time to establish Sam using his first skill, as well as sharing some time with Dean, but of course Dean can't ever be straightforward with his thought sand feelings.
> 
> Next up is 'Nightmare', which I'm really excited for! And thank you so much to everyone who supported this story on the first chapter, it really helped motivate me to get this chapter out quickly! 
> 
> Thank you for reading ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is actually my first time posting a fic, so i'm very excited! I alwasy want to see more fics of Sam having powers without becoming boyking be explored, so fine I guess I'll do it myself.
> 
> The powers in this fic will be based off of fate/grand order and the servant system, but does not require ANY knowledge of the fate series to be enjoyed! And don't worry, there will be fun things in store for Dean later on as well ;)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I'm excited to keep writing! Please feel free to leave any advice on writing or tagging the comments c:


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